"Insult to our history": Raghav Chadha hits out at Centre over tableau snub
Jan 26, 2024
New Delhi [India], January 26 : Amid the war of words between the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Punjab and the Centre over the alleged rejection of the state's tableau for the main Republic Day parade in the national capital, party leader Raghav Chadha said the non-selection is an "insult to our history and deeply hurts everybody".
"The BJP government has rejected Punjab's tableau for Republic Day. Punjab isn't just a piece of land, but a landmark in India's journey to freedom and becoming a full-fledged republic. The rejection of our tableau is an insult to our history and sacrifices and deeply hurts every Punjabi," the AAP Rajya Sabha MP posted from his X handle on Friday.
Further, taking aim at the BJP, the AAP leader posted, "All you can do is sink low and reject a tableau, BJP. But you can't remove our name from the history of India's struggle to become a republic--a struggle to which your contribution has been zero."
"(Punjab won't bow to anyone, Punjab won't stop," Chadha added in his post while sharing a video clip of the state's tableau.
https://x.com/raghav_chadha/status/1750803978257068532?s=20
"At the Republic Day parade in Ludhiana today, we showcased the tableau rejected by the Centre to the people. Today, Punjabis living all over the world are seeing this tableau and taking a lot of pride in it. I would urge you all to see it and tell me what is wrong with it," Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann posted in Hindi from his official X handle.
Earlier, sources in the Ministry of Defence (MoD) said the Punjab tableau did not align with the 'broader themes' of this year's tableaux, rejecting CM Mann's allegation that the Centre deliberately discriminated against an Opposition-ruled state.
"The Centre deliberated discriminated against Punjab," Mann said earlier, adding that the tableau of AAP-ruled Delhi was also ignored for the main R-Day event.
However, hitting back at the government, state BJP leader Harjeet Grewal said the AAP was misleading people by levelling false accusations against the Centre.
